all below is posted in utter seriousness for the sake of intelligent discussion. no corny beef.

do you think that this one element of reggae culture, which you keep citing as the reason all of this is "wrong", that element being the "exclusivity" factor for sound system, is really still relevant in 2012 with regards to tunes made in the 1970s?

and further, do you think it of greater importance than (and thus trumping the facts that) these tunes were already RELEASED, and NEVER rarefied by any purposeful intention of their creators? the fact that they have become "soundman's cards" as you say, is a defacto occurrence. do you find this defacto distinction to be of more importance than the fact that artists & producers want their music to be available and heard? a simple YES or NO will do.

you're ignoring the fact that all of this jabber about "exclusivity" and "soundman's cards" is totally irrelevant to the artists & producers. i assure you the only time it was a factor for these folks is when these records were brand new and soundsystem play was, in addition to entertainment, a vehicle to promote the sales of records (something you always conveniently ignore). the fact that 30 years later they are some "soundman weapon" for you and your buddies is relevant only to you and your buddies, it doesn't go beyond that. i would bet every cent that i have that if clive or norman or trevor read this thread their response would only be "no man caan tell mi dat mi tune caan release!"

i understand your passion for soundsystem but your relentless clinging to this one aspect of the culture as paramount to all other concerns (even above those of the creators of the music you apparently love) is comical. i also want to say again something i've said before which is that, i'm sorry to burst your bubble, but record collectors and their radio shows, and youtube channels, and selecting down at the local pub, etc. does not constitute for me, the continuation or existence of the culture you constantly refer to (coxsone, duke reid, 1970s sound system, etc.)the time of sound system you refer to is functionally over, and even if and when it wasn't, as i've said 100 times over, producers & artists gave records to sounds as a means of promotion for their works. promotion for sales and recognition. so to be extremely blunt and black & white about it, NO, I DO NOT CARE ABOUT "SOUNDMAN'S RECORD BOX" and RECORD COLLECTORS. but guess what, i'm a record collector myself, my entire house is filled with records and i own tons of rare records, many of which i've spent serious loot on. but that's my choice, and i never hold it against the fact these records were meant to be available, heard, released.

lastly i want to point out that while you keep harping on this idea of "targeting the killers" and saying it like you're exposing some secret insidious agenda, i will remind you that our mission statement from day 1 is to RE-RELEASE HIGH QUALITY AND RAREFIED MUSIC. so yes, that is exactly what we are doing, targeting rare and killer tunes that we like, and re-releasing them as best as we can.

finally, if you think i am getting rich off this than you know EVEN LESS about the business than i already think you do. and anyone who does know about the business is having a good laugh at you endlessly repeating that.

Waterhouse - Basically, you're pissed off because a tune has been reissued and your ego has been badly dented as a result because you can't get the so-called props of being a "selector" playing only original label tunes. Get over it, you are starting to sound like a cracked record. At least RB is dealing with the artists, they are happy with it, they get some $ from it, and he even has the patience to take your incessant and tiring ranting. You should have joined me and Buju Murphy on the real soundman thread and then we would have metaphorically kicked your ass with some serious dubplate action. If you are so bothered about exclusivity then go and spend your hard earned $ on some dubplates that no other man can play. I couldn't imagine coming out to hear some decent music and have to end up watching a man masturbating over his own record collection.

MUSIC IS MADE FOR THE PEOPLEIf the artist knows everything about the release (its conditions, in legal & $ terms), what's the problem?How can I enjoy these gems if I dont have them?? MP3?? Or, Mr Waterhouse, should I go to your dances?? Any European tour in your mind?

In reality the result is exactly the opposite of what your are saying here - making many rare killers available just force serious selectors to dig deeper & unleash rarer & more obscure tunes. Thats part of the fun isn't it ? I know that for me it just make it more challenging to come up with original selection playing some serious tunes you can't order on Ernie B & i'm sure that your collection is too wide to become obsolete by 10 or 20 or 50 killer tunes becoming available to everyone. I've been collecting for 15 years or so (which is not too much), i have about 1500 7"s & 12"s & my want list still get longer every week with tunes that most of them are impossible to find or too expensive for regular humans to get hold of. The amount of rare & killer reggae tunes is unbelievable so i'm happy to have the possibility to grab a want list tune here & there for $6, even it's "only" a repress.

The reality of today with the internet/eBay/popsike etc. is a fact, like it or not. The game changes all the time, nothing you can do about it rather than accept it & try to rise above it.

Some valid points skunkride but I do know in the current climate some people are scared of playing unknowns for fear of someone hunting down the artist and cashing in on them.A great many tunes including dubplates have been repressed and bootlegged over recent years that it its reaching a saturation point particularily when it comes to 70s roots.we all have our own perspective and its true it is artists who should have a big say in all this. times are changing, knowledge and availabilty has increased and people are cashing in and nothing I can say will change this. Rootsman I heard you play many years ago in bradford and your commercial specials and jungle,bhangra reggae hybrid ain't the kind of music I'm talking about.I dont recall one original deep tune being played so i doubt you know any of these tunes till there repressed. You kwno nothing about me so you are not qualified to comment. Maybe you should know something of the history of the sound i am involved in, spanning many decades, before you comment...you mention dubplate,with regards to this we do directly support artists in the way of specials as well as owning dubplate that come direct from studios like king tubbys etc... equipment and music selection from 1966 onwards . mostly orig. but we do have some reissue. Anyway,I could go on but this thread is not about bigging up ourselves and my opinions dont necessarily reflect the view of others in the sound.... "roots'man this is a public forum not the property of dkr so its not a case of tolerance. One positive from all of this is that the artists are getting something for their works.this is another issue.I have no wish to argue, I just want to state my opinion from my point of view.put simply..I don't like the philosophy of dkr.it feeds of collectors and sounds and artists. There's a lot of rare music from Jamaica without some third party targetting big tune after big tune.maybe someone should point out popsike etc to the artists back in yard and let them deal with it. I'm very happy to see artists making money for their own work.

Last edited by waterhouserock on Thu May 31, 2012 7:36 pm, edited 15 times in total.

jps wrote:No worries. You have no idea how excited I am about these Jah Life material you guys are putting out. Love that you are doing some lp's now too as well. Hopefully there are more to come.

thanks for the kind words. yes, if you check the numbering of the Jah Life series you'll see there's nuff more to come, including a bunch more unreleased.

endless respect to my bonafide bredren Jah Life, a man in the business since the dawn of the 1970's, but who well understands the runnings in 2012, and is happy to now let out all these dubplate mixes out of his old arsenal for all to enjoy. the dub cut of 'warrior' and the dub cut of 'itch it up operator' were Jah Life's personal custom dubplate mixes. several more of these to come as well...

Last edited by RB on Thu May 31, 2012 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

honestly, stop with the cartoon villainizing. no one is "cashing in on" or "preying on" anyone.

one person putting out & distributing a record for another person has been going on since the dawn of the business. it is what it is. i know quite well we're not doing it any different now than guys were doing it in the 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.

every producer i work with is grown man who made his own decision to work with me or not. no one is being victimized.

i know each and every one of them personally and i guarantee not a single one of them is unhappy with anything or has anything bad to say about me.

finally, as i've said on this board before, our financial dealings are none of yours or anyone elses business, only our own and those we are in business with. it's comical that you or anyone else thinks this information should be disclosed. i have no problem saying this b/c as i've said, anyone who is in the business knows the runnings and is laughing at your delusions of the riches at stake here.

just man up and stop trying to cast aspersions to cover the fact that you're stung because we've reissued tunes that made you feel like a big man for owning. who cares.

You are cashing in on a level previously unseen but there are bigger problems in the world..I have nothing to add i was simply replying to your questions...as you put it "for the sake of intelligent discussion" .If you dont wish to discuss finance why bring it up? Im not in the buissness of reissing reggae but simple maths would indicate that there is a considerable profit to be made each month. I dont beleive you are some kind of charity outfit. I have made my point and dont wish to waste my time going round in circles. We will have to agree to disagree.Im sure we both got better things to do.

Last edited by waterhouserock on Thu May 31, 2012 8:03 pm, edited 5 times in total.